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“I want to remind Vermonters that this is a very rare virus,” Dr. Harry Chen, Vermont’s health commissioner, said in a statement. “On average there are only six cases nationwide each year. It can lead to life-threatening illness for about a third of all people infected. So while exposure is extremely rare, it is a very serious illness.”

The state conducted aerial spraying to reduce the risk of EEE exposure last week. On average, there are six nationwide cases of EEE each year, officials said.

Health officials said that spraying helped, but “no amount of mosquito mitigation will eliminate the risk,” with a small risk of exposure remaining under the first hard frost.